The Weather for Romance
by TheYoungTimpani
Summary: A short Sandle story set in Little Rock, Arkansas. Post Fannysmackin'


"It may as well be snowing," sighed Sara Sidle as she and Greg Sanders trudged through the cold mist on the sidewalks of Little Rock, Arkansas.

"At least if it were snowing we wouldn't have to go in," he replied, leading her down to the sidewalk overlooking the Arkansas River.

"What's the temperature?" she asked, shoving her hands into her coat pockets.

"About 36, that's probably colder than it's ever been in Vegas."

He stared out at the soft rain rippling the surface of the mighty river. She leaned her back up against the railing.

"Why'd Ecklie send us to this conference any way?"

"I dunno, I guess because he hates me and Grissom and since you're dating Grissom…"

He avoided her eyes.

"Yeah, that worked for all of a month," she scoffed.

"Huh?" he asked finally looking up from where he had been leaning over the rail watching cars passing on the I-30 bridge.

"Yeah, we broke it off about a month and a half ago…I broke it off." I could never be second to bugs and dead bodies."

"You shouldn't have to be."

She smiled at him an d he smiled back up at her.

"You hungry?"

"Yeah, wanna head up and get us some dinner?"

"Sure," she replied following him back up to street level and in to the Ottenheimer Market Hall of the River Market.

As soon as he entered Greg held his head up and took in the assortment of smells and singled one out.

"Mmm…coffee," he sighed.

She laughed as he looked around for a vendor marketing coffee and spotted a coffee shop off to his left.

"I thought you were hungry?'

"I'm also cold."

He weaved through tables and people as he was pelted by the smells of the market.

They got their coffee and took a seat next to a window looking out on Markham Street as a trolley passed by.

Greg sat for a while, apparently deep in thought.

"What's up Greg?"

"Huh?"

"What are you thinking about?"

"Math."

"What?'

"A month and a half ago would be roughly mid-October, right? Around the same time that I was in the hospital?"

"Yeah," she answered, apparently unaware of where this was going.

"That wouldn't have had anything to do with it, would it?"

"Actually, if you must know, it had a lot to do with it. In fact, that probably had more to do with it than anything else."

Greg smiled shyly and took her hands in his.

"Cool," he said, at a loss for any other words.

She smiled, equally as shy, back at him.

"You know, you healed up real nicely. In fact, you might even look better now."

"So I look good?"

"You've always looked good."

"Yeah, I'm a handsome devil, aren't I?"

She laughed and stood up, taking him, hand-in-hand back into the hustle of the market.

They browsed through the restaurant's stands and eventually settled on Big on Tokyo for Sara and Casa Mañana for Greg.

Before leaving Greg insisted on stopping by the Community Bakery stand for Christmas cookies.

"We'll have to come back before we leave to get one of those for Nick," he joked, pointing at a large, red cookie shaped like a Razorback.

They returned to their room on the fifth floor of the Peabody Hotel, overlooking the river. They curled up against one another and fell into a peaceful sleep.

Greg was up bright and early the next morning preparing a pot of hotel room coffee.

He groggily padded over to the window to open the curtains.

"Oh…my…God…," he said, rubbing his eyes to be sure he wasn't hallucinating then pinching himself to insure he wasn't dreaming.

"Sara! Sara! Sara, wake up! Come here!"

He ran over to the bed and gently shook her awake. He took her hand and led her over to the window.

"What is it, Greg?" she asked, her eyes still closed.

"It's…it's…look, it's…!"

"Snowing…Oh, my God! It's snowing!"

Her eyes widened in awe.

The phone rang and Greg rushed over to answer it.

He returned with a smile on his face.

"They've cancelled the conference!"

"Cool, so we just have to hang out here all day?"

Both had sat down and were watching the snow fall.

"We can walk around. There's some museums and stuff around here."

They ordered room service for breakfast and took their time eating.

Then they walked next door to the Old State House Museum. They ate lunch in the River Market again. Greg basically dragged Sara into the Museum of Discovery even though she argued that it was a kids' museum. They wandered through a few galleries and ate supper at Gusano's Pizzeria.

Greg managed to convince Sara to take a carriage ride with him.

_We should take a ride tonight around the town  
and look around at all the beautiful houses  
something in the way that blue lights on a black night  
can make you feel more  
everybody, it seems to me, just wants to be  
just like you and me_

No one wants to be alone at Christmas time  
Come January we're frozen inside  
Making new resolutions a hundred times  
February, won't you be my valentine?

And if our always is all that we gave  
And we someday take that away  
I'll be alright if it was just 'til St. Patrick's Day

"So does this officially make you my girlfriend?"

"Tell you what, Greg, if it snows in Vegas on Christmas I'll let you tell everyone that you're officially my boyfriend."

She was confident that she had made a safe bet, but ever the optimist, Greg agreed.

They reached the hotel just in time for Greg to catch the end of the news.

"_Now, for a last check of the weather with Ed."_

"_Well, Andy, if you thought that this early snowfall here in The Rock was odd listen to this: the NWS is calling for snow in Las Vegas, Nevada on Christmas!..."_

"Hey, Sara, you here that?" Greg grinned at her, "you lose." "Nuh-uh," she said, raising up to kiss him, "I think we both win."

Believe it or not all the places in this story are real. Even the two newscasters, Andy and Ed. They're the anchor and weather man for channel 11, in Little Rock.

I hope you liked it!


End file.
